Mysterious Mixtures Science for 3—5 year-olds

Mysterious Mixtures

Science for 3--5 year-olds

CAREGIVERS, PARENTS AND PRESCHOOL EDUCATORS provide many creative opportunities for young children to explore their world. That's why we've created Big Science for Little Hands, an evolving suite of science resources for teachers and caregivers of 3?5-year-old children. Our aim is to develop activities that inspire further exploration and discovery. We hope that these resource materials complement what you are already doing and offer additional ideas to inspire further exploration. The activities have been designed for experiential learning. The intent is for children to experience each concept, rather than simply talking about it. Each activity can serve as a starting point for further exploration. The activities are divided into the following categories. Introductions--These could be used to set the stage for the topic, or to find out how much the children already know. They're low-preparation, low-mess activities for a large group to do together. Explorations--These require a bit more set-up and clean-up. They work best with small groups of children. They're intended to be open-ended, with a teacher or other adult available to pose questions and expand the activity as required. Make This--These explorations result in a product that children can take home or display. All Together--This big whole-group activity would make a great wrap-up to the topic. Connections--Ideas for extending the topic in cross-curricular ways. You know your group best! There is no perfect way to order or arrange these activities. They could be combined into a whole day on a theme, or taken one at a time over several weeks. Please pick and choose, expand or contract as makes sense for your group of children.

September 2009 Science World British Columbia TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7 t 604 ? 443?7440 f 604 ? 443?7430 w vancouver

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

Topics Now Available:

Round the Circle

Activities to explore round things and things that roll.

Wet & Dry

Activities to explore being wet and dry.

Sticky Stuff

Activities to explore stuff that sticks.

Size Matters

Activities to explore things that get bigger and things that get smaller.

Mysterious Mixtures

Activities to explore dissolving, separating, mixing and combining.

Check for more resource packages coming soon: scienceworld.ca/ preschool.html

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Mysterious Mixtures

A Path Through Mysterious Mixtures

Here's one possible way to put the activities in this resource together.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

? Do one or two Introductions at circle time in a large group. ? Have the children try the Explorations and Make This in smaller groups at stations

around the room. ? Try All Together just before the end of the school day, or at the end of a few days on the topic.

Introduction: Does it Dissolve?

Introduction: Lava Bottles

Exploration: Vinegar and Baking

Soda Eruptions

Exploration: Ooey Gooey Oobleck

Make This: Coffee Filter Chromatography

Make This: Sweet Treat: Homemade Ice Cream

All Together: Pop Fountain

Big Science for Little Hands supports the learning goals outlined in the British Columbia Early Learning Framework, particularly those in the area of Exploration and Creativity. To promote exploration and creativity, adults provide an environment where young children can do the following: ? explore the world using their bodies and all their senses ? build, create and design using different materials and techniques ? actively explore, think and reason ? identify and try possible solutions to problems in meaningful contexts and situations ? be creative and expressive in various ways ? develop a sense of wonder for natural environments ? express a zest for living and learning

(BC Early Learning Framework: .bc.ca/early_learning/)

Share with us!

Please send us your feedback, suggestions and ideas.

Email bslh@scienceworld.ca

Or visit scienceworld.ca/preschool. html and fill in an online survey.

Thank you to the children and families around British Columbia who assisted with the testing of the activities in this package. Thank you to The Canadian Children's Book Centre who recommended many wonderful children's stories.

Science World British Columbia

TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7

t 604 ? 443?7440 f 604 ? 443?7430 w vancouver

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Mysterious Mixtures:

Introductions

Does it Dissolve?

What happens when we combine a liquid and a solid? When a solid dissolves, it seems to disappear, but it is still there, we just cannot see it.

Sugar breaks down into tiny pieces and dissolves in water. When the sugar is completely distributed throughout the water, we call this a solution. However, not everything dissolves. Rocks and sand do not dissolve in water--they sink to the bottom. We call this a mixture.

What you need

? clear cups or other containers ? sugar cubes ? rock or gravel (similar size as sugar cube)

? water ? spoons

Hands-on

1. Fill two clear cups or containers with warm water. 2. Make some predictions about what you think will happen when you add

the sugar cube and the rock to the water. 3. Add one sugar cube to one cup and a rock to the other cup. 4. Observe. 5. Taste the sugar water to see if you can detect the sugar.

Questions to ask

What will happen to the sugar when we add it to the water? What will happen to the rock when we add it to the water? Where is the sugar now? Where is the rock now? Where did the sugar go? Can we get it back?

What next?

Experiment with other substances in your kitchen (e.g. drink crystals, hard candies, pepper, sand, flour, salt). What dissolves (makes a solution) and what does not (makes a mixture)?

Compare how quickly a sugar cube dissolves when you stir it and when you let it sit still.

Compare how quickly a sugar cube dissolves in cold water and in warm water.

Try pouring a small amount of sugar water onto a coloured dish. Allow the water to evaporate away (this might take a while). Can you find any sugar?

Compare melting and dissolving. Melting is a change of state, dissolving is a solid being integrated into a liquid.

Note for next time

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

Where to next?

INTRODUCTIONS Does it Dissolve Lava Bottles

E X P LO R AT I O NS Vinegar and Baking Soda Eruptions Ooey Gooey Oobleck

MAKE THIS Coffee Filter Chromatography Sweet Treat: Homemade Ice Cream

ALL TOGETHER Pop Fountain

CONNECTIONS More Ideas

Hint:

Using warm water will make the sugar dissolve faster.

Science World British Columbia

TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7

t 604 ? 443?7440 f 604 ? 443?7430 w vancouver

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Mysterious Mixtures:

Introductions

Lava Bottles

Oil and water don't mix. They stay separate because of their molecular structure. Scientists call them immiscible liquids.

Oil is less dense (lighter for its size) then water, so it rises to the top. Salt is denser then both oil and water and sinks to the bottom. The salt drags some of the oil down as it sinks. The salt dissolves in the water and releases the oil, which rises back to the surface.

What you need

? clear plastic water bottle with lid ? water ? vegetable oil ? food colouring ? salt ? spoon

Hands-on

1. Pour water into the bottle until it is about one-third full. 2. Add about the same amount of vegetable oil to the bottle. Observe. 3. Add a few drops of food colouring. Observe. 4. Put the lid on tightly. 5. Shake the bottle vigorously. Observe. 6. Allow the bottle to sit undisturbed for a few minutes. Observe. 7. Add one spoonful of salt to the bottle. Observe. 8. Repeat step 7 as many times as you like.

Questions to ask

What happened when you: * Added the oil? Did it mix with the water? * Added the food colouring? Is the food colouring in the oil or the water? * Shook the bottle? * Let the bottle sit after shaking?

What did you notice when you added the salt? Where did the salt go? What did the oil do?

What next?

Add some dish soap to get the oil and water to mix. Soap is an emulsifier (a substance that can mix with both oil and water).

Make oil and vinegar salad dressing. Add garlic or a little bit of mustard to help the oil and vinegar to mix. Dip vegetables in for a healthy snack.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

Where to next?

INTRODUCTIONS Does it Dissolve Lava Bottles

E X P LO R AT I O N S Vinegar and Baking Soda Eruptions Ooey Gooey Oobleck

MAKE THIS Coffee Filter Chromatography Sweet Treat: Homemade Ice Cream

ALL TOGETHER Pop Fountain

CONNECTIONS More Ideas

Hint:

Observe the bottle from the side, not from the top.

Science World British Columbia

TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7

t 604 ? 443?7440 f 604 ? 443?7430 w vancouver

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Mysterious Mixtures:

Explorations

Vinegar and Baking Soda Eruptions

Vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base. When you combine them, they foam, bubble and overflow their container. The acid and base are reacting when they do this, neutralizing each other and creating salt, water and bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.

What you need

? tall narrow vase or similar container ? vinegar ? baking soda ? food colouring ? funnel ? spoon ? baking sheet, tray or pan

Hands-on

1. Place the vase on the baking sheet. 2. Spoon some baking soda into the vase. 3. Add 2?3 drops of food colouring. 4. Pour in some vinegar. 5. Stand back and enjoy the reaction. 6. Repeat!

Questions to ask

What do you think will happen when we mix the vinegar and baking soda? What did you see? Where did the bubbles come from?

What next?

Try combining different amounts of baking soda and vinegar. Add a bit of dish soap for extra bubbles. Make a volcano shape from aluminum foil and do the reaction in its crater. Explore other things that fizz, such as Alka-Seltzer tablets.

Note for next time

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

Where to next?

INTRODUCTIONS Does it Dissolve Lava Bottles

E X P LO R AT I O NS Vinegar and Baking Soda Eruptions Ooey Gooey Oobleck

MAKE THIS Coffee Filter Chromatography Sweet Treat: Homemade Ice Cream

ALL TOGETHER Pop Fountain

CONNECTIONS More Ideas

Hint:

To make your vinegar usage more cost-effective, dilute it with water before you use it in this experiment.

Science World British Columbia

TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7

t 604 ? 443?7440 f 604 ? 443?7430 w vancouver

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